Verbal Contract
by mkcrl120
Summary: What happened to Ethan Rayne after the events in A New Man..?


Fic: Verbal Contract 

Author: mkcrl120

Disclaimer: All the characters mentioned in this story belong to Joss Whedon or Mutant Enemy or some other people. I own nothing and wrote this just to get it out of my system.

Summary: Set during season 4.

Authors Notes: A kind of missing scene from season 4. Set after a few days after 'A New Man.'

Rating: 15 by English standards.

* * *

Ethan slowly opened his eyes, his eyelids seeming heavy, _'Probably a result of some drug.'_ he reasoned bitterly to himself. Slowly allowing himself to get adjusted to the new light source, he took a look around his new location.

He was lying on a small bunk._ 'Unrestrained this time..?'_ he was surprised to note.

His last conscious memory had involved being strapped to a chair in an empty room, while he was being asked the same questions repeatedly by some invisible voice.

"Mmmmmmm." He mumbled as he forced his limbs to move. Sitting up, he blinked a few times attempting to shrug off the remainder of the drug's effects. He lifted his hand and rubbed his eyes, staring blankly at the three bare walls surrounding him. On the fourth side of the room, instead of a wall he found himself staring through a large window.

_'Probably unbreakable glass.'_ He reasoned, trying to discover any obvious ways out of here. _'Maybe if I get chance to build up sufficient power levels.'_ He thought, eyes focused on the creature occupying the cell opposite his.

_'Grenlagg Demon...'_ He figured, instantly recognising the short grey demon that was cowering in a corner.

_'Not that smart.' _He remembered, brain searching through his knowledge of the animal. _'I'd have thought it'd be repeatedly attacking the glass trying to get free... and if my mind's not playing tricks on me, it could be strong enough to succeed.'_

He stepped closer to the edge of the cage. Now near enough to see the burns and other injuries on the creature.

"Mmmmm." He thought aloud, examining the window at the edge of the cage. He leaned in near the sides, careful not to touch the glass.

A quick smile crossed his face as he recognised the barely audible hum of a power source seemingly coursing through the glass.

"Ahhh." He said aloud, then returned to sit on the bunk, waiting to see what would happen next.

Nothing proceeded to happen for another ten minutes. During which time, Ethan had simply sat and attempted to come up with ways out of the cell. _'The main problem is that I have no potential ingredients on me. And everything in the room that could be possibly ripped off is as sanitary as they can make it.'_ He mused disappointed. _'In fact the most magical thing around is that thing over...'_

He stood up, ideas coming to mind now. _'If I can manage to syphon off some of the creature's natural energies then I might be able to focus it into a spell. But what spell..?'_ He thought, realising instinctively he may only get one chance at this.

_'And leeching power off another being is extremely draining.'_ He confessed to himself. _'Once I've collected enough for a spell, and then performed it...'_ He tried not to think about how vulnerable he'd be once it was complete. _'Magically I'll be spent for at least an hour, possibly more depending on the spell... and I'll physically feel like I've run a marathan...'_ He thought that over and corrected himself. _'Well, not me running a marathan obviously... more like someone who could actually do it without dying.'_

He walked over to the edge of the cage. Trying to expand his senses to see if he was physically close enough to the Grenlagg to be able to feel it.

That's when he heard it.

The whirr of noise from somewhere above him. Glancing up he saw the telltale small black dome hanging from the ceiling. _'Camera's... Just like in Vegas... wonderful.'_ He silently cursed, speculating on exactly what type of technology they might have up there. 'It's not like any camera could pick up magical ability in normal circumstances,' he sighed wearily, assessing the risks with what he might have to do. _'But if I'm syphoning energy off of others... both the strain of doing so, and that of maintaining control is going to quickly raise my body temperature.'_

He tried to imagine what that would look like on an infra-red camera. Tried to guess what a technician would see, as his body warmed up uniformly across every single cell of his being. _'Well, it's not going to look natural that's for sure.' _He figured. _'Which means that the soldiers will rush in here thinking I'm up to something... dammit so I'm on a timelimit, I've got to perform the spell the second I stop absorbing the power.'_

"Mmmm." He mused again, trying to peer down the corridor to see exactly what he might need to achieve freedom. There were no obvious exits... which means he'd need either a transportation spell of some distance or an in-detectability spell that lasts for some time.

Sighing he sat back down,_ 'This is going to take more power than I originally thought.'_ He folded his legs under himself and concentrated, _'Better see if I can actually gather any.'_

Closing his eyes, he dug his fingernail hard into his left palm. Piercing the skin and allowing the first drops of blood to rise to the surface. Collecting each drop he carefully rubbed them into every finger and thumb, and then held his hands apart, only the fingertips together and began to knot his brow in concentration.

Feeling relaxed as he breathed deeply, he reached out with his mind and felt the small aura of focus that existed within his handspan. He lowered his heartbeat as he felt that aura react to his mental probing. He smirked just before he leaned his head back and exhaled as he expanded the aura to reach across to the Grenlagg.

"Yarrghhhh..." He screamed as he landed on the floor. Sweat dripping from every pore of his being.

Slowly he managed to get a hand under himself, attempting to physically lift himself off the cold tiles, even though part of him was tempted to just lay there.

"Dammit." He swore aloud, opening his eyes and staring directly through the glass. Hearing the sounds of lots of footsteps approaching his cell from somewhere at the sides.

_'Stupid prick,' _he cursed himself as he realised his mistake._ 'Should have known that the cells next door would have been closer to me.'_ He smirked, as he heard the whoosh as the glass door moved to the side and some soldiers arrived covering the exit.

_'Was expecting a Grenlagg essence,'_ he mentally winced, as he remained on the floor, large boots now coming into the cell. _'From the energy signature I'm guessing I have a couple of vampires as neighbours.'_ He smirked, as powerful hands lifted him into a standing position. _'If I'd stopped the aura's expansion in time I could have simply used their demonic abilities. But when it reached the Grenlagg...'_ he cut off his thoughts, as he was forced to face with a serious looking commando.

"What did you do..?" The stern faced man asked without compassion.

"My dear boy." Ethan replied, unable to stop the giggles. "This is simply what happens when you mix your drinks." He was still laughing when they were physically dragging him down the corridor.

* * *

_Twenty Minutes Previously._

Maggie Walsh glanced at the file in front of her. "Ethan Rayne." She read aloud. According to all the work done in Nevada, Ethan had proven to be completely human, fitting within acceptable norms for all possible tests.

Sighing, she stared at the monitor, as if daring the person sleeping there to move. She remembered what the people at the Nevada base had told her. It was unbelieveable that he'd only been there for two nights. _'And on his second, he'd made an escape attempt.'_ She reasoned thoughtfully.

Re-reading the first page she made notes of the tests performed on the subject. _'I can't believe they didn't turn up anything at all.' _She mused to herself, noting that the prisoner was now pacing the cage. She watched with anticipation as he leant in closer to the glass. _'Come on.' _She tried to mentally will the prisoner into getting fried at least once.

She frowned in disappointment a few moments later when he returned to his seat.

"Arghh." She muttered before she could stop herself. Turning to the technician monitoring the multiple screens she quickly asked. "So... what did it turn up?"

"Nothing ma'am." Came the immediate response. "All readings indicate he's human."

"You're trying to tell me he just guessed that the glass was electrified." She stated in disbelief.

"As far as the monitors can tell, yes ma'am." He repeated.

"What about telepathy?" She mused aloud.

"Unable to check brain activity levels while in the cell, ma'am." He stated. "Hasn't been necessary so far. Most types of HST appear to be of sub-human intelligence."

"So it's possible," She mused, mind flicking back to remember that nothing had come up when brain scans were performed on the subject in Nevada._ 'But he could have simply not being using it.'_ She reasoned to herself._ 'I wonder if other abilities are available, but remain undetected while not in use.'_

She smiled at the thought of a soldier that was completely indistinguishable from any other citizens when they weren't using their enhanced abilities.

"What's he doing now..?" She asked as the camera zoomed in on the subject sitting.

"He appears to be meditating." The technician paused as if confirming something. "And I believe, but yet to confirm... but it looks like he's drawn his own blood."

"Why..?" Maggie mused, leaning in for a closer look.

Suddenly the subject appeared to shake for a brief second then fell solidly to the floor.

"What happened..?" She shouted, trying to make sense of what she'd seen even as she thumbed a button that summoned guards into the holding area.

"Not sure ma'am." The technician answered, "But if you look at this screen here." he gestured towards the infra-red. "It appears that his body temperature fluctuated extremely quickly. According to the sensors he increased his temperature steadily by two degrees over approximately one and a half seconds, but then he spasmed and was a clear nine degrees higher by the time he hit the floor."

"How did he do that..?" She mused, as Forrest and the others entered the subject's cell.

"Unknown ma'am." The technician answered the rhetorical question, while continuing to examine the data. "Dropped a degree already ma'am. Estimated that in fifteen minutes we'd never have known he did anything."

Maggie was pouring through the file again,_ 'I'm certain nothing happened when they drew blood in order to examine it.'_ She thought to herself, finding the page in question she quickly confirmed that no abnormal properties had been noticed in the sample._ 'But it doesn't comment on whether anyone was examining him a few moments after it had been taken.'_ She realised slamming the folder shut in anger.

She reached the phone and quickly connected herself to her lead soldier. "Forest." She ordered into his earpiece. "Bring the subject to me."

* * *

Ethan found himself being half carried further into the complex. _'Well, that's interesting...'_ he thought to himself, _'as well as the vampires and the Grenlagg, I'm certain that I recognised the underlying essence of a nearby hellmouth. Odds are that I'm back in Sunnydale. Looks like the spell gave me something useful after all.'_ The guards with him stopped at a closed door and simply waited a few seconds.

_'Handle... key..?'_ Ethan thought to himself, while mentally examining his body. _'Some dregs of power left... nowhere near enough for anything useful,'_ he realised, as his temperature had almost returned to normal. _'Best save them in case opportunity presents itself.'_

He was distracted from his inner thoughts when a buzzing sound could be heard and then the door automatically opened. _'Heavy on the electronic security measures then, just as they said.'_ He thought back to the sources that'd provided him with information about the latest players on the hellmouth in exchange for a few token tricks.

Two of the guards manhandled him inside and dropped him into a chair. They then walked behind him and stood at attention on the wall behind. _'Oookayyy...' _He thought, trying to work out exactly what was going on.

Suddenly another door opened on the opposite side of the room. _'Didn't notice that entrance.'_ He realised, watching as a middle aged woman in a lab coat strolled in, surrounded by two guards of her own. Taking the chair opposite him, she sat down placing a small file on the table as she did so.

"So what's the diagnosis, doc..?" He joked.

"My name is Doctor Magaret Walsh." The woman announced. "And I've been consulting your file."

Ethan raised his eyebrows, trying to work out why he'd been returned to Sunnydale. "Hope it's nothing serious... I did have a cold a few weeks ago, but it seems to be over now."

"It seems you had a... reaction in the cage."

"Claustrophobia." Ethan responded instantly. "Or maybe it's the cold returning... it did give me some hot flushes."

The doctor stared back at him, obviously not amused by his comments. "Mr Rayne," she began. "I've examined your file and as far as we can tell you're completely human."

"Excellent." He joked back, "Sometimes it's just nice to be reassured, you know..? So if it's just a case of mistaken identity, then give me a lift back to town and we'll call it even, yes."

"Mr. Rayne. I don't believe you're aware of how serious this situation is." The doctor replied firmly. "We don't believe you're human. So by impersonating an American Citiz..."

Ethan quickly cut her off. "I'm not American. Do I even sound American to you..? I'm British, and I don't think that the bureau would be happy to hear that you holding one of Her Majesty's subjects without..."

"We found several passports in your room when we detained you." The doctor opened her file and flicked the first few pages over. "One of which is an American Passport," she raised her eyes to meet his. "And the name on this passport is a Stephen King."

"Ahhh, yes that." Ethan began, smirk automatically appearing on his face. "I just love Halloween and all that scary stu..."

"Mr. Rayne." The doctor stated firmly, cutting off his latest excuse. "Let's not waste each other's time shall we..?"

He reluctantly nodded, realising for the moment this woman was not going to let him gain control of the conversation.

She quickly continued. "As far as all our tests can confirm, you appear to be completely human, but you seem to have some abilities that don't fall within expected norms. Would you conceed this to be true..?"

Ethan chose not to respond, instead simply waiting for her to continue. _'Not your standard doctor then.'_ he mused, _'Wonder if she's got a military rank too..?"_

Flicking the page on the file, she started again. "We've come to one of two conclusions. Either you're a demon able to perfectly blend itself into human form, or you're a human with exceptional abilities. You denied both accusations when asked at our Nevada location. The plan was to perform an autopsy to see which is true, now to be honest an autopsy doesn't really help us if it turns out to be the latter."

Ethan clamped down his emotions._ 'I expected to be captured and possible tortured before I got chance to escape. Looks like the timetable runs faster than I thought.'_ "Help you..?" was all he voiced out loud.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "After the escape attempt the decision was made to terminate you before you got another opportunity. Unlike with other demons, if that is what you are, we are unable to identify what your abilities extend to. And as such finding ways for inhibiting their use is practically impossible. Therefore it was decided that we'd find out what we could from your corpse, and if nothing was found... well, at least we'd have removed another Hostile from our world."

"So that's why you brought me here... so that your medical experts can examine me once I've been killed..?" Ethan gulped as he asked the question. _'This is moving way too fast.'_ He realised.

"The ones in Nevada are as equally trained, it could have been done there." The doctor replied. Then smiling as she turned onto another sheet of paper in the file. "Basically I overruled that decision once I recieved this report from one of my officers."

Ethan let out a relieved sigh that he wasn't aware he'd been holding.

"I'm going to assume that you're a human with certain abilities." The doctor continued. "Even though this last report does allow the possibility of either option to remain true."

"Okay..." He replied, not trusting his flippant tone not to result in his head being placed back on the block.

"We know that certain humans are capable of tasks, that aren't shared by most of the population." This time Ethan found himself nodding almost imperceptibly. The doctor was quick to respond though. "What we want to know is whether or not these abilities can be trained to others."

"Ermm..." Ethan hesitated, knowing he needed to respond to this line of enquiry. "It's a little more complicated than that... the advanced abilities might be available in say a small proportion of the population. But identifying them is practically impossible, and no-one knows for certain how it may manifest themself... if it even does."

"Please explain further."

"Some people can control it consciously, others not so much. Some can widen their range and learn other skills, others can only get better at doing a handful of things. Some might never ever realise such abilities were available to them."

"See isn't it more pleasant when you co-operate..?" The doctor commented, attempting to put a smile on her face. "And you nicely brought us onto topics that are of specific interest."

_'And if that isn't the cat that ate the canary.'_ Ethan thought to himself. "How so..?"

"We have some individuals that work within the military that have proven to have certain aptitudes for mental abilities." The doctor paused. "What we're interested in learning is whether or not some of your own skills could be teachable."

_'Oh thank Janus, is that all..?'_ Ethan almost sighed in relief. _'Teach them a few little tricks like invisibility and how to blend into shadows, and hopefully it'll buy me the time to work out how to get out of here.'_ "Possibly, I can't be certain how any individuals might take to specific skills but I'll see what I can do." He added in what he considered a cheery tone.

"Excellent, the skill I'm most interested in is the one on this report." The doctor continued. "It says here that you turned an old acquaintance of yours into a demon. Overnight."

Ethan's eyes widened, this wasn't what he was expecting. "And you want to learn how to do that..?" He asked incredulously.

"Many demons are physically superior to soldiers, quite a few are practically bullet-proof. You could see how that would be an advantage in a modern army."

_'Small tricks..? She's asking me to turn the tide of every single battle.'_ Ethan looked shocked.

"Though most of those demons are not exactly the greatest thinkers." She expanded. "But according to the report, your colleague... a Mister Rupert Giles, reported that he was himself to begin with but did find his mental capacity fading the more he remained in demon form."

_'Hmmm,'_ Ethan thought to himself. _'That's the difficult part of the process, virtually any half-decent practitioner can over-write either their own or another's physical form with that of the desired end result. The trick when doing it to yourself is to maintain integrity of your brain patterns, otherwise they get overwritten too. When I was designing that little challenge for Giles, I had to go to a vengeance demon to learn how to do it for another. Otherwise he'd have simply woke up completely as a Fyarl demon, and that's hardly making him suffer is it..? Or giving him a fair chance to return to human form.'  
_

"Well," the doctor asked impatiently. "Is it true, and more importantly can you help us..? Or do we continue with your dissection..?"

_'Bloody woman.'_ Ethan thought, plotting revenge for this treatment. _'If I pass this information on then I'm dead anyway when I become of no use to them. I guess I could skip the part about keeping brain integrity, should cause a bit of havok once they turn one of their units into a group of demons.'_ The corner of his mouth raised up as he imagined the devastation that a group of demons roaming free within their complex could cause. "It is possible." He admitted. "But it's very difficult."

The doctor smiled at him, "I think you'll find you will be quite comfortable here if you co-operate."

_'Yeah, til I'm of no more use and you try to cut me open.'_ Ethan smiled back. _'But I think I can give you just enough information to cause trouble... least til I get a real opportunity to escape anyway.'_ "In that case, how can I help..?"

* * *

**_The End_**

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** A/N: **Between this and_ 'Thoughts Before Battle'_, I'm considering a selection of _Missed/Deleted Scenes_ from both BTVS and ATS. I'll probably post more as I think of them (that said, I thought of this about a month ago - but never got round to writing it).._  
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